Feb. 20, 2009 Letters to the Editor

February 19, 2009 6:21 pm

Stimulus effects e

President Obama has put forth this stimulus package that will not result in the creation of any real new long-term jobs, other than in government.

What it will create is a shortage of money available in the open market for business, because the government has borrowed the largest part of the money supply. What it will create is inflation when the government has to print money to pay its debt when the tax revenues shrink, because of a lack of free enterprise expansion.

What it will create is a much larger government involvement in the day-to-day decisions of business and people’s lives. What this will create is a short-term fix for a long-term problem that is neither Republican nor Democratic. It is a people who want someone to take care of them and not have to worry about how it is done.

If the government borrows $2 trillion at 3 percent, it will cost $165 million a day in interest. You cannot spend what you do not have to buy what will not do what is needed.

The corruption is caused by an attitude of how much money versus how much work. Money is the product of work. Everyone seems to want just the money without the work.

A lot of the people I talk with seem to agree that this is nothing more than a money fix for an addiction to government dependence.

R. Scott Jellison

Hermon

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Bonus stimulus

One should keep in mind that the stock brokers and bond sales people who received those ridiculous bonuses are American tax payers. As such, they will be paying taxes on their bonuses and hopefully some money will be flowing back into the economy through club fees, airline tickets, golf balls, booze and the like.

The $3 million and more individually awarded to those men and women may have a quicker impact on the economy than a few dollars doled out to the truly needy. Mr. Than of Merrill Lynch initially wanted $40 million but then sought $5 million, yet in the end he got nothing since he sold a lemon to Bank of America. One might, however, caution the Wall Street big swingers that they might save some of their money in anticipation that some part of our society or government will eventually sue them for “lack of due diligence.”

William Gallagher

Bangor

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When in Rome

Can atheists and agnostics have a morality that they can live by and use in judging others? That is the question asked by Robert Merriam (Letters, BDN, Feb. 11) and since he asked, we’d like to answer — Yes!

Polygamy, man-boy sexuality and cannibalism have all, once and somewhere on this planet, been morally acceptable. Less than 200 years ago in the churches of the South, high officials argued feverishly that slavery was sanctioned by God and thus morally acceptable.

Even today different cultures have different notions of morality. If one believes God created all humans and morality is absolute because it comes from God, then why has morality been different for different cultures and times? Because morality is driven by societal norms. It is our society’s norms we are expected to live up to in order to be accepted therein. When in Rome, act as a Roman.

By asking this question in the context of same-sex marriage, Mr. Merriam has hit the center of the debate. Our society’s morality is changing. Same sex couples are accepted, by and large, and certainly sexual orientation ought not be the basis for discrimination under our secular laws. Equal justice and equal treatment under the law is a moral principle in our society. If we accept same sex couples and homosexuality without discrimination, then what is the reason for denying same sex couples recognition under our state’s marriage law?

Some argue that adherence to God’s morality is that principle. But apparently God’s morality can change so we are again back to asking for a reason.

Ben Lamborn, Sarah Sha’afi

Levant

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Let God judge

I have been reading letters to the editor on the gay marriage debate and have been very disappointed. Some writers have referred to gay marriage as “indecent,” “immoral” and “unacceptable.” I have read several letters that included religious beliefs and usually a quote from Scripture. These letters condemn others and inflict upon us the writer’s interpretation of what is “wrong,” an act of judgment.

I was taught by my parents to treat others as I would want to be treated, and that I do not have the authority to judge another human being.

Why are so many of us judging others and their personal lives? If my brother wants to kiss his boyfriend, that is his business. If my lesbian friend wants to marry her partner of 10 years, so long as she is happy, then that is not my business, and it is surely nobody else’s.

And it is not the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender communities that have caused the decline in moral standards in this country. It is we who allow our children to play videogames that promote crime, that everything we come in contact with is super sexualized, that we can allow a woman and her child to sleep under a bridge in the winter, that fatherless homes have somehow become acceptable.

There are far more pressing issues we need to worry about than the relationships of people we don’t even know. Let your God be the judge of them, and remember, one day, your God will judge you, too!

Abbie Wickett

Hampden

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No license for illegals

After reading the story about opponents trying to change parts of the new driver’s license laws, I was concerned and disappointed. It seems Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, would like to remove a requirement that an individual prove that he or she is in this country legally.

Why would anyone want to make it easier for an illegal person to obtain a Maine driver’s license? These licenses can be used for identification purposes and certainly should not be held by persons who are illegally in the United States.

Sen. Damon said this law erodes our freedom and liberties. Mandatory seat belt laws, auto insurance and auto inspections also erode our freedom but serve a useful purpose. I think the key word in the whole article is “legal.” If a person isn’t legally in this country, they shouldn’t be here and certainly shouldn’t be getting a Maine driver’s license.